Unless otherwise indicated herein, approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.
In the context of firearms, a magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device that is contained within or attached to a firearm. In general, the magazine can be removable or otherwise detachable with respect to the firearm. A magazine typically includes a spring, a spring follower, a magazine body, and a base. The base is used to seal off one distal end of the magazine body leaving the opposite distal end open. One end of the spring is attached to or otherwise pushed against the base while the other end of the spring is attached to or otherwise pushed against the spring follower. The open end of the magazine body is typically smaller than the follower so that the follower can move up and down within the magazine body but cannot exit the magazine body through the open end thereof. When in use, the magazine stores one or more rounds of ammunition cartridges therein with the ammunition cartridge(s) pushing down or otherwise compressing the spring via the spring follower. Moreover, the magazine moves the ammunition cartridge(s), one round at a time, into a position near or at the open end of the magazine body of the magazine where the ammunition cartridge can be loaded into a barrel chamber of the firearm by the action of the firearm.
In typical usage, the magazine requires manual manipulation of controls (e.g., by pressing a magazine release button) to release the magazine so that the magazine can be detached or otherwise removed from the firearm to facilitate reloading of new or additional ammunition cartridges into the magazine. In most applications, there may not be a readily apparent indicator of an emptied magazine. Undesirably, this may delay the user response and increase the time for reloading, which is detrimental to both combat and competitive applications. Furthermore, many platforms of firearms utilizing detachable box magazines, such as the AR15, are not ambidextrous in controls in that the magazine release is usually not as readily accessible by left handed users.